My kids were going to bed... families and homes must be out of bounds
■ O’NEILL: HOME MUST BE YOUR SANCTUARY... ■ HARRIS: IT CAN BE DEEPLY UPSETTING...
TAOISEACH Simon Harris has condemned an anti-immigration protest held outside his home while his two young children were being put to bed.
The protest outside the Greystones home Mr Harris shares with his wife Caoimhe and his two young children Saoirse (5) and Cillian (2) was described as “totally inappropriate” by North First Minister Michelle O’Neill yesterday.
Pictures of over a dozen people gathered outside the home carrying banners with anti-immigration messages were shared on social media on Thursday evening.
Messages on the banners included “South Dublin says no. Close the borders”,
“Éire will no longer be run by EU puppets” and “Why all men?”.
Asked about the demonstration during a meeting in Belfast with Ms Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengally, Mr Harris said he did not want to comment in detail on the protest but stated that protests at the homes of public figures should be “out of bounds”.
“I don’t want to say too much about this,” he said.
“I don’t just like describing this sort of thing as a protest.
Police
“I always think people’s families and people’s homes should be out of bounds.
“It was bedtime for my kids last night when this situation arose.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate and I don’t really want to comment on it any further than that.”
Speaking later on RTÉ’s News at One, the Taoiseach said demonstrations like this cannot be “normalised”.
He also insisted that Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has assured the Government that Gardaí have enough powers to police these protests.
“It is behaviour that can be intimidating, it can be deeply upsetting,” Mr Harris said.
“We recently asked the Gardaí whether the law is adequate in terms of being able to protect people, their families in their homes.
“The Gardaí have responded that they are and therefore I think we need to continue to support the Gardaí in making sure that action, no matter whose home it is, is taken because nobody’s family deserves to experience that.”
Michelle O’Neill condemned the protest and said these types of protests will not be tolerated.
“It is totally inappropriate. The Taoiseach has two young kids,” she said,
“I think your home should be your sanctity.
I don’t think that there’s any tolerance or should be any tolerance for that type of attack on someone’s home.”
A Garda spokesman confirmed to The Star they had attended the protest at Mr Harris’ home on Thursday evening.
“Gardaí received a report of a gathering of people outside a residence in Greystones, Co Wicklow shortly after 7pm on Thursday May 2 2024,” they said.
“Those present gathered for a duration of less than 10 minutes before leaving the area.
Ban
“An Garda Síochána is investigating all the circumstances of this incident.”
The demonstration at the Taoiseach’s home came just two weeks after a similar group gathered outside the home of Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman. Many of these people wore balaclavas or face coverings and also hung anti-immigration messages on the railings outside Minister O’Gorman’s home.
It is not the first time Mr Harris’ home has been protested, following a gathering outside his Greystones residence in 2019 when he was Health Minister. His eldest child was several weeks old at the time.
His constituency colleague Stephen Donnelly was forced to erect a large fence outside his home in Greystones due to protests, while other demonstrations have been held outside the homes of former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy.
A Bill to ban protests outside politicians’ homes will be debated again in the SeFianna anad on May 23. Fáil Senator Malcolm Byrne, who wrote the legislation, argued that the ongoing protests at politicians’ homes are evidence of why it is needed.